Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2011
- Class:
- 2006
A St. Louis native who became one of the nation’s most dominant pitchers in a stellar three-year career, Sherzer elevated the Tiger program to elite status before moving onto the professional ranks where he has become one of the best pitchers in the game. He broke out as a sophomore in 2005 when he led the Big 12 Conference in ERA (1.86) and strikeouts (131). His strikeout total broke a 14-year-old school record. He won nine games that season and was part of a combined no-hitter against Texas Tech on April 1, 2005. He was the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2005 and claimed second-team all-America honors. Sherzer was a semifinalist in 2005 for the Clemens Award, which honors the nation’s top collegiate pitcher. The 2005 Tiger team won 40 games for the first time since 1991. As a junior in 2006, he was slowed by injuries, but still managed a 7-2 record and a Big 12-leading 1.95 ERA while earning first-team all-region honors from the ABCA. He beat No. 1-ranked Florida that season and later tossed a seven-inning shutout against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament. That Mizzou team went to Pepperdine and won its first NCAA Regional, before being eliminated by Cal State-Fullerton in the Super Regional round. He played for the USA Baseball National Team (2005), and later became the 11th-overall selection in the 2006 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks – the highest any Tiger had been drafted at the time, and the first Tiger to go in the first round. He was named the Diamondbacks’ Rookie of the Year in 2008 after posting a 3.05 ERA in 16 appearances and he made a big splash in his major league debut when he struck out seven Houston Astros in just 4.1 innings of work. He was traded to Detroit prior to 2010 and won a career-high 15 games for the Tigers in 2011, helping the team to the ALCS by defeating the New York Yankees in his first career post-season start in the ALDS. He won the Cy Young Award in 2013 when he posted a 21-3 record with a 2.90 ERA and 240 strikeouts. He led the American League in victories in 2013 and 2014 (18). After five years with the Tigers, he moved on to the Washington Nationals and won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2015 (20-7, 2.96) and 2016 (16-6, 2.51). He led the National League in strikeouts in 2016 (284), 2017 (268) and 2018 (300). He led the NL with 18 victories in 2018. He had a 13-4 record and a league-leading 2.28 ERA when he was traded mid-season in 2021 to the Los Angeles Dodgers and crossed the 3,000-strikeout career plateau. He finished the year 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA. In the off-season, he signed a three-year contract with the New York Mets. Sherzer has been named to the MLB All-Star game eight times and has started in the game for both the American and the National Leagues. He pitched two no-hitters in 2015, tied the MLB record for strikeouts (20) in a nine-inning game in 2016, and tied the MLB record for recording 250 strikeouts in five straight seasons. His number 31 at Missouri was retired in 2019.
